School counsellors can play a powerful role in closing the achievement gap by incorporating principles of social justice - that is, equity and advocacy for all students - into their practice. This new resource for pre-service and in-service counsellors addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter academic failure (racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism), and challenges readers to play an active role in bringing about the conditions for student success. Offering a variety of vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions, the book provides the framework for how school counsellors can mitigate the impact of negative factors hampering academic performance and healthy development. The book details six functions of a school counsellors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement.
Create conditions that lead to success for ALL students and confront conditions that create opportunity gaps This new edition of a bestseller shows school counselors how to incorporate principles of social justice, antiracism, equity, and advocacy into their practice and addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter challenges at school due to racism, sexism, heterosexism, and classism. It includes: Vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions A framework for how school counselors can mitigate the impact of negative factors that hamper academic performance and healthy development, especially among students of color Six functions of school counselors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement.
Examines the effectiveness of training provided to school counselors on the implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs based on the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model.
"Dr. Johnson′s work provides both the philosophical and practical blueprint for transforming public schools into the learning communities we want and need. Leaders will find the book to be the most useful document to guide and inform their efforts to close the gap and maximize learning for all students." Joseph Burke, Superintendent of Schools Springfield Public Schools Springfield, MA "If the goal of all students reaching high standards is to be met, Using Data to Close the Achievement Gap should be required reading for all teachers and administrators. It should also be an integral part of the course of study for those preparing to teach in the United States." Vinetta C. Jones, Dean School of Education, Howard University "From Johnson′s penetrating analysis of current research, policies, and practices, and her wealth of experiences working with school districts around the nation, she clearly makes the connection between using data and achieving equitable outcomes as districts and schools struggle to close the achievement gap." Aukram Burton, Diversity/Multicultural Specialist Gheen Professional Development Academy Louisville, KY "This book represents a significant contribution to the national debate around school reform. Ruth Johnson presents a thoughtful, well-documented treatise on how educators, policymakers, and parents can use data to set achievement goals and to measure progress towards these goals." Walter Allen, Professor Department of Sociology, UCLA Exercise the power of data to identify and rectify educational inequalities! Student populations are diverse—however, their access to knowledge and success should not be. Unfortunately, statistics show that real disparities do exist in academic achievement, which consistently coincide with income level and race. In this comprehensive guide, Ruth S. Johnson highlights compelling evidence that these inequities can be linked to school practices that inadvertently increase inequities. The solution to this pervasive problem lies in the collection and examination of appropriate data, and this book shows readers how. This updated edition of Setting Our Sights: Measuring Equity in School Change now includes current studies, policies, and practices, and provides new sections on data dialogues and school indicators. It offers valuable assistance for understanding, visioning, planning, and executing tactics that can successfully close the gap in student achievement, including: Straightforward and in-depth discussions of the five stages for equity reform Clear and easy-to-understand explanations of research findings Practical tools including questionnaires, surveys, forms, and models Tips for effectively gathering, analyzing, and applying data Johnson shows how data is instrumental not only in targeting areas for improvement, but also in offering insights into the necessary steps to foster positive change and create a culture of high achievement for all students, especially those students who have traditionally been overlooked. An indispensable reference for any school undergoing a quality review process, this reader-friendly manual presents practical how-to′s for analyzing data and developing a strategy that empowers teachers and administrators with an equal opportunity for success.
Create conditions that lead to success for ALL students and confront conditions that create opportunity gaps School counselors can play a powerful role in closing opportunity gaps and addressing the social, emotional, and academic needs of students. This new edition of a groundbreaking bestseller shows school counselors how to incorporate principles of social justice, antiracism, equity, and advocacy into their practice. Written by Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, university professor and advocate of transformational change in school counseling, this book addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter challenges at school due to racism, sexism, heterosexism, and classism. It includes: Vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions A framework for how school counselors can mitigate the impact of negative factors that hamper academic performance and healthy development, especially among students of color Six functions of school counselors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement Written for both preservice and in-service school counselors and those who support them, this essential guide prepares readers to take an active role in creating equitable conditions for success for all students.
When youths become convinced that they will not be able to make it in mainstream America, they tend to take the skills they have and use them to take the low roads of life. Even though all citizens will ultimately be affected by the success or failure of these youths, it is a challenge for educators to provide ways to prepare them to choose the high road as the path for their lives. The 1979 research of Ron Edmonds (Kuykendall, 1992) suggests that, despite the negative influences of home and community, schools can positively impact the achievement of children. An effective educator can give a child hope, and with hope a child can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. This study focuses on the leaders of the school, and more specifically the counselor, in helping to lead the charge in preparing these students. That is, this study investigates how the school counselor can best be prepared to assist in the travails both within and outside of the classroom in order to improve student outcomes and the school experience for all. The plan is to offer hope for these children in the way of preparing their administrative counselors to offer the social and emotional support that brings about academic achievement. The literature review found much support for the need to address the achievement gap between Students Placed at Risk (SPARS) and further support that the leadership of the school has a great deal of responsibility in closing this gap. Several articles reported that the counselor can heavily influence the achievement of students in a positive direction. School counselors are being encouraged to serve as mentors, personal support systems, and advocates for disadvantaged and minority students within the educational setting. The challenge for our profession is to integrate this new vision into existing school counseling programs. To that end, the study moved in the direction of how best to prepare school counselors to take on that responsibility. Practical implications and research direction for this study were drawn from these conclusions.
Create conditions that lead to success for ALL students and confront conditions that create opportunity gaps School counselors can play a powerful role in closing opportunity gaps and addressing the social, emotional, and academic needs of students. This new edition of a groundbreaking bestseller shows school counselors how to incorporate principles of social justice, antiracism, equity, and advocacy into their practice. Written by Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, university professor and advocate of transformational change in school counseling, this book addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter challenges at school due to racism, sexism, heterosexism, and classism. It includes: Vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions A framework for how school counselors can mitigate the impact of negative factors that hamper academic performance and healthy development, especially among students of color Six functions of school counselors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement Written for both preservice and in-service school counselors and those who support them, this essential guide prepares readers to take an active role in creating equitable conditions for success for all students.
The New School Counselor provides school administrators and school counselor educators, supervisors, and practitioners with a unified understanding of the new roles and functions of the school counselor. Schellenberg introduces standards blending, a systems-focused, integrated, and student-centered approach that directly and overtly aligns school counseling programs with academic achievement missions. Each chapter includes relevant research, literature, key players, real world applications, and major developments and trends shaping contemporary school counseling in a school reform environment. The CD that accompanies this text contains the long-awaited comprehensive electronic school counseling data reporting system that is being hailed as innovative, timely, and essential to meeting increasing accountability demands. The School Counseling Operational Plan for Effectiveness (SCOPE) and the School Counseling Operational Report of Effectiveness (SCORE) systematically walk users through accountable programming from conception to evaluation using Microsoft Office. In a click, users can access core academic and school counseling standards, data sources, and pre-formulated worksheets for instantaneous data analysis. SCOPE and SCORE include essential data reporting components for closing the achievement gap action plans and results reports of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and school accountability initiatives.
Turn random acts of school counseling into definitive and data-driven efforts! In this new edition of a bestseller, school counseling scholar and advocate Trish Hatch and National School Counselor of the Year Julie Hartline provide school counselors with new ways for moving from reactive to proactive and from random to intentional counseling. By using data to determine what all students deserve to receive and when some students need more, readers will learn effective ways to provide proactive school counseling services, hold themselves accountable, and advocate for systemic change. Inside you’ll find: Clear and straightforward directions for analyzing data, planning and providing interventions, and evaluating your work Strategies for using data to drive interventions, develop curriculum scope and sequence, create action plans and pre- and post-tests, initiate systems changes, and report results Methods aligned with the most recent edition of the ASCA National Model (2019), ASCA Professional Standards and Competencies, Evidence-Based Practice, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), and Multi-Tiered Multi-Domain Systems of Support (MTMDSS) New practitioner examples and artifacts, including a RAMP School of Distinction Flashlight Package, plus dozens of tools, templates, surveys, action plans, and data management forms Equip yourself to think and plan differently, and become more efficient and effective by using data to drive your school counseling program!
Despite calls for a more preventive and developmental mode of functioning, school counseling has tended to be driven by a reactive and sometimes crisis orientation. Like social workers and school, counseling, and clinical psychologists, school counselors typically function to alleviate deficits, often in a small percentage of the students they serve. Although this orientation has served school counselors well in many instances, it is not empowering, it does not serve all students, and it does not replace those deficits with the type of positive characteristics and abilities that schools are attempting to develop. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive look at the theory, research, and intervention strategies that comprise a strengths-based, developmental approach to school counseling. In keeping with ASCA recommendations, the Strengths-Based School Counseling (SBSC) framework discusses academic, personal/social and career development outcomes for all students at the elementary, middle and secondary school levels. Other key features include: integrative framework SBSC builds upon contemporary research from a variety of areas: school counseling, developmental psychology, school psychology, education, positive psychology, resiliency, and social work. evidence-based interventions detailed examples of successful evidence-based interventions and environments are presented at the elementary, middle, and high school levels for each major developmental area (academic, personal/social, and career) identified in ASCA‘s National Model. readability and pedagogy beautifully written, the text includes lists of key points, tables of student strengths, illustrative examples, and student exercises.
